boat paddle ukuleles

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Great U.K. players:
Peter Nixon!
  Another great set of tutorial and performances from the U.K. ,  Peter Nixon's videos really got me going on many of the aspects of banjo ukulele playing.  He has posted tutorials on the fan stroke, split stroke and break downs of many of George Formby's solo breaks.  A very crucial one for me was his second fan stroke tutorial because it sorted me out on the best order to use the fingers in the fan stroke in relation to "tapping".   It's very important to learn the fan stroke correctly from the very beginning because the timing of the tapping technique depends heavily on which strings are being strummed.  For most cases of this technique, you stroke this order:   thumb on high string down stroke, index finger on high string up stroke, followed by a down stroke with the back or side of the little finger across all of the strings.  (as you get familiar this pattern you emphasize the outer strings for melodic clarity)
  Peter's video explains this carefully and was a revelation for me when I first saw it because I could not seem to coordinate the ragtime rhythm with the fan stroke.  (123,123,12)
  I highly recommend having a look at Peter's Channel which includes tutorials, performances at the Formby Society and various other items of interest.
P.S.   Peter is a lefty and is kind enough to aim his camera into a mirror so that the videos aren't completely confusing to observe.  Thanks for the help Peter!

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